At the risk of making everything feel rather hopeless – the Daily Mirror are claiming in their ‘exclusive’ this morning that Daniel Sturridge will be out until at least November as he continues his recovery from hip surgery.
This will come as a significant blow to Liverpool fans who had previously been told that Sturridge could be back as early as September – coinciding with our next Premier League outing against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
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Indeed, The Telegraph stated earlier this month that a return date of September 12 had been pencilled in, while the recent clips of Sturridge exercising on social media and his subsequent return to first-team training earlier this week have only served to raise such expectations.
Sadly, the Mirror have brought us back down to earth with a bang this morning, after suggesting that Sturridge is still only back in light training and is yet to participate alongside his teammates.
The lengthy road to recovery that he is still continuing along means that he won’t return until at least the game against Crystal Palace at Anfield on November 8.
Quite how the two sources could be so far apart remains thoroughly unclear. We just have to hope that whatever precautions that need to be taken over Sturridge’s health are carried out in full, and that when he does return, he returns to us better than ever.